Former Georgian defense minister Irakli Okruashvili pauses during a Reuters interview in Berlin November 9, 2007.
Photo: Reuters
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Okruashvili Wanted in Georgia
Georgia’s former defense minister Irakli Okruashvili had been added to the wanted list, the country’s Public TV announced with reference to the Prosecutor General Office. Although summoned several times, Okruashvili didn’t show up before investigators, the prosecutors explained.
The City Court in Tbilisi passed yesterday the award on Okruashvili’s detention. His lawyer, Eka Beselia said she would appeal the judgment in the court of higher instance. By hearsay, Okruashvili is in Munich now.
Once the hawkish defense minister and then the opposition leader, Okruashvili was arrested after the shocking interview to Imedi TV Channel. In that interview, he accused Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili of corrupt practices and of plotting the attempted murder of famed businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili.
In prison, Okruashvili was charged with the office abuse, laundering and extortion. He was released on bail of roughly $6 million after he retracted the accusations and admitted the guilt.
Okruashvili has abruptly fled from Georgia in early November. The exiled leader proceeds with accusations against the president, claiming he retracted them under the threat of lengthy prison sentences for him and his friends, and compares Saakashvili to Adolf Hitler.
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